Comhaltas North American Convention Builds Titanium "Bridge To The Future"

By Eamonn O'Loghlin

This past weekend the Comhaltas Mid Atlantic Region did a masterful job of building a "Bridge to the Future". Without any reluctance whatsoever, the current icons of the living tradition of Irish musicians in North America (and they were all there), gracefully passed on our cultural heritage to the coming generations.

The performance at the Saturday night banquet was probably the most moving experience I have ever witnessed in over 25 years of involvement in Comhaltas.

Picture if you will, 15 of the masters starting a performance that continued for a good 30 minutes where one by one they were replaced by younger and younger generations. The music was non stop and if you actually closed your eyes between start and finish and just listened - only the most discerning would have noticed any change in the quality, rhythm or style of the music.

It was indeed a credit to the musicians of North America that they have had such success in handing down our music to a younger generation that shows such love and respect for not just the music but the older generation who brought it too them.

So often I have attended both business and cultural conferences and conventions where you hear and see a theme and you come away wondering, what was that all about. In Parsippany, the Bridge to the Future was interwoven through the weekend schedule of workshops, lectures, ceilis, recitals and countless sessions that allowed the participants to experience to the maximum, this thoughtfully produced showcase of Irish culture.

Over the course of the weekend probably 2,000 souls passed through this event and as they left for home and all points north, south, east and west, the farewell was unanimous, "See You in St. Louis next year". Over the almost 20 years I have been attending I look forward once again to meeting the many friends I have made at this event. This year I met so many young people attending for the first time who were just blown away by the experience.

It was so rewarding to see how comfortable the kids were in sitting in sessions with the masters and the welcome they received. Whether it was 11 year old Jennifer Markham who traveled all the way from Ennis, County Clare with her fiddle or 14 year old Rory Chole from Chicago with his accordion, one and all, they were an integral part of this unforgettable experience. The Student Showcases in the hotel Atrium were just phenomenal.

And what did the hotel folks think about all this convention and the rather strange sounds wafting through the halls around the clock. For one, Pedro Berez in banquets who escaped from Cuba many years ago with his mother said, and I quote, "In all my years working at the Hilton I have never met a group of people were so polite, easy going, educated and such fun". Nice to hear such words when we see what's going on around us in this crazy world.

I could not do justice to the slua of artists by mentioning their names or how they performed other than to direct you to the Comhaltas Live link on www.comhaltas.ie. Master videographer Willie Fogarty from Nenagh captured the essence of the weekend through his lens and microphones that were ever-present. I only hope Willie got his framed photo of Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon back to Tipperary in one piece.

Another Tipperary man, Senator Labhras O'Murchu, the Ard Stiurathoir of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann spoke with such passion and gratitude about CCE in North America that I really wanted to share his words with the readers. In addition to Willie's video we have included some photos from Sean McPhail and John Finbarr Crowley who also captured this historic event. Special Congratulations to the Convention Co-Chairs: Paul Keating, Frankie McCormick Jr. & Tom Vesey.

Slan go foill - See You in St. Louis.